November 03, 2009

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Planned Parenthood, a strong backer of reproductive rights, has its own concerns about the Ellsworth amendment, noting the group has given the congressman a zero percent rating during his almost three years in Congress.

“Representative Ellsworth’s language purportedly seeks to amend a carefully-crafted and balanced compromise that should have put this issue to rest months ago," said Laurie Rubiner, Planned Parenthood's vice president for public policy. "The Capps compromise assures that access to abortion care is neither mandated nor prohibited and that women will not lose the health care benefits they have had for decades. It also stipulates that no federal funds can be used for abortion care. We are concerned that this new language could tip the balance away from women’s access to reproductive health care."